


First Day of Testimony

by AdamWestFan



Series: The Cold of Europa [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: F/F, No Fandom - Freeform, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:34:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27461275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AdamWestFan/pseuds/AdamWestFan
Summary: This is a series of stories all set in the same universe, although at different times. They're not going to be published in chronological order, although I will eventually make a timeline for all of the stories.
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Female Character
Series: The Cold of Europa [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2006374





	First Day of Testimony

**Author's Note:**

> This is a series of stories all set in the same universe, although at different times. They're not going to be published in chronological order, although I will eventually make a timeline for all of the stories.

“We were wearing our 7-Alpha suits at the time of the incident.”

“Why were you not wearing the mark nine suits, Lieutenant? Hadn’t the Commandant already required all Marines to be issued and wear the mark nine?”

“Yes, sir, the Commandant had already issued that directive. We, however, had not been issued the new suits and used what we had available to us.”

“You hadn’t received the new suits?”

She leaned back into the mic and cleared her throat. “As I just said, no, sir, we hadn’t.”

“And why is that?”

Amanda sighed. “It’s just the reality of space based warfare. The amount of fuel that would have to be used to ship the new suits to each of the carriers would have been astronomical. To ship anything to every carrier is impractical, no matter what’s being shipped. That’s the reason why the only time ship to ship operations are conducted are during times of extreme emergency. If we did that for every new piece of equipment we wanted in the field, the United States would run out of fuel in two weeks. So, instead, we employ the Mattis Doctrine. Load a freighter with the supplies for five or ten ships and a skeleton crew, give it a small fighter escort, and send it off to a deep space port. All the ships in the region will be scheduled to visit that port within the next month or so and all the Marines will have the supplies they need.”

“So the Mattis Doctrine is standard operating procedure for the Marine Corps?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Had the _U.S.S. Langley_ made its stop at port?”

“No, sir. We weren’t scheduled to stop at Jupiter station for another two weeks. That's when we would have picked up the mark nine’s.”

“Let’s move onto the encounter with the _E.C.S. Rommel_. You were first made aware of the distress call at what time?”

“Around 04:30 zulu on the 12th.”

“Who informed you of this distress signal?”

“My commanding officer, Captain John Skarrett. He briefed me on the situation and told me to get my squad up and to prepare for an emergency boarding.”

“Please elaborate on what you mean when you say that Captain Skarrett briefed you.”

“He informed me that after spotting the _Rommel_ we had been attempting to make contact with the crew since around 02:00 that morning and hadn’t gotten a response. Under the 1968 Rescue Agreement, we were obligated to attempt to help the crew of the ship and planned a boarding operation to access any damage to the ship and help any survivors.”

“What time did this boarding operation take place?”

“The operation began at 08:30. All 15 of us were loaded into a dropship and left the _Langley_ at 08:40.” 

“When did you reach the _Rommel_?”

“Just shy of 09:00. We canceled our momentum, attached the dropship’s airlock to the aft airlock on the _Rommel_ , and prepared for entry.”

“How was the entry process?”

“Smooth. Thanks to the treaty a few years back, the US and EC both use the same style of airlock, making our work easy. Didn’t take longer than a minute to get the door open and to secure the entry zone. After that, we fanned out with our fire squads while Rodriguez and Eke stayed with the dropship.”

“How many fire squads were there?”

“Three. Four Marines in each.”

“Who led each of the fire squads?”

“Duncan, Lachmann, and me. Ducan took his squad to examine the engine compartment, Lachmann took hers to the bunks, and I led mine to the bridge.”

“What was the first sign something was wrong?”

“For me, I started feeling something was off when there was no one, dead or alive, on the bridge. We immediately started digging through the black box, looking for what had happened.”

“Was that what you were doing when Lachmann reported the substance that was found in the crew's quarters?”

“Reported is not how I would describe how Lachmann reacted, but yes, that is what my fire squad was doing.”

“How would you describe Lachmann then, Lieutenant?”

“Frantically screaming on the open mic for us to close our environments.”

“Do you believe she overreacted in her response?”

“Not at all. She reacted how any of us would have.”

“Now, Mr. Chairman. I do believe we have the audio from that moment. Let’s listen to it.”

The chairman nodded at an aid who pulled out a tablet and pressed the screen a few times. Static hissed from the bottom speakers and out came the panicked voice of Keri Lachmann. 

“MASKS ON, MASKS ON! GET YOUR FUCKING MASK ON ALY!” 

Then came Amanda's voice, calmer but clearly worried. “Keri, what the fuck is happening over there? You taking fire?”

“Negative, negative. Do not come into the bunks. We’ve been exposed to possible biological or chemical agents. I repeat, do not come to us. Amanda, Zade you’ve gotta get your teams out of here. Send back a hazmat pod for us. You hear me?”

Finally, Amanda spoke. “Alright, we’re pulling back. Keri, keep your team calm. Zade, egress in five mikes.”

“We’ll be there Amanda.” The audio ended there and a silence once again descended upon the chamber. The Senator again leaned onto his elbows.

“What was your immediate response to what Sergeant Lachmann had said?”

“I motioned for my team to close their masks and attempted to learn more about the situation, as heard in the audio.”

“What were your actions after the events of the audio?”

“I ordered for the black box to be taken and for us to head to the egress point immediately.”

“When did you reach the egress point?”

“Um, around 09:20. I know we beat Zades team back. They showed up about a minute later.”

“What actions did you take then?”

“We exited through the airlock, secured ourselves, and I ordered the pilot to open a secure line to the _Langley_ and get ready to take us home.”

“What did you do upon being told you had the secure line?”

“I asked to speak to Langley Actual. As soon as I received confirmation I was speaking to Captain Skarrett, I relayed everything I knew about the situation on the _Rommel_ and asked for a hazmat pod to be set to the aft airlock. I was told to prepare to be quarantined and have to go through a decon shower.”

“How did your Marines react to that news?”

“A lot of complaining and swearing.” The chairman chuckled at Amanda’s response.

“So, nothing out of the ordinary.”

“No, sir, not at all.”

“Now, several references have been made to a ‘hazmat pod’. Can you explain what that is for us?”

“A hazmat pod is a small craft that is divided into eight equal parts, each containing the supplies needed to sustain a person for two weeks. They’re not very big and no one wants to be stuck inside of one. But, they’re effective.”

“Why weren’t you forced to spend time inside of one of these hazmat pods?”

“The air circulation system on the _Rommel_ had been turned off when we entered the ship and none of the people onboard that dropship had had any direct contact with the substance. We were, however, forced to go through decon procedures and restricted to quarters for two weeks.”

“A less extreme version of the quarantine that Sergeant Lachmann and her team had to endure. Would that be a fair characterization?”

“Yes.”

“Did anyone on the dropship show symptoms?”

“No, sir.” Amanda started fidgeting her hands, knowing the question she feared the most was coming soon.

“Tell us what happened to those onboard the hazmat pod.”

She swallowed hard as her stomach dropped. There it was. “We believe that, initially, Private First Class Wiseman was the only one infected. He remained the only one infected until he broke quarantine procedures and forcibly entered Lance Corporal Gill’s isolation room. It took both Sergeant Lachmann and Lance Corporal Leigh to remove and restrain PFC Wiseman. From there, all four were infected. Colin, I mean Lance Corporal Gill, was the first to die from the virus. He died four days after exposure. PFC Wiseman died two days after that, 11 days after his initial exposure. Lance Corporal Leigh died two days later, six days after exposure. Sergeant Lachmann died a few hours after Lance Corporal Leigh.”

“Do you have any ideal why PFC Wiseman would forcibly break quarantine procedures?”

“No, sir, no reason is known, officially.”

“Officially. Do you have a personal belief on why he would have done that?”

“He probably knew somewhere in his mind he was dying and just didn’t want to die alone.”

“And broke quarantine, killing three of his fellow Marines in the process.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Turning back to the original ship, did you find any survivors on the _E.C.S. Rommel_?”

“No, sir. It appeared to us that whatever virus was onboard seemed to have a 100% fatality rate.”

“How did you proceed after the four Marines died?”

“A specialized C.B.I. Response Force was sent to recover the bodies, samples of the original infectious substance, and any other samples they deemed important.”

“After the C.B.I. Response Force had completed their mission, how did you proceed?”

“The Captain ordered the _Rommel_ destroyed to prevent any further spread of the virus. Ship to ship missiles were used. Three, I believe.”

“What was the original infectious substance that the PFC had encountered?”

“It was an aerosol can that was rigged to spray as soon as someone moved the bed sheet on the bunk he had been examining.”

“So, exposure was avoidable?”

“In theory, yes. In actuality, no. It’s standard procedure to check every possible hiding space for documents and anything else of strategic value. Someone would have eventually been sprayed. It was just bad luck that PFC Wiseman was the one to be sprayed and the first one infected.”

“After the destruction of the _E.C.S. Rommel_ , what did you do?”

“I did my best to console my Marines. We held makeshift funerals and boxed up the stuff of the dead. Skarrett had told us to take it easy until we made it to Jupiter station. He knew we needed some time to decompress. Most of our time was spent trying to distract ourselves from facing what had happened.”

“What happened when you reached Jupiter Station?”

“All enlisted personnel were officially debriefed. Captain Skarrett and I were read into what the CDC had been able to discover. The virus was a modification of a naturally occurring avian flu. It was definitely modified in a laboratory and it was suspected that the laboratory would have been off-world in order to minimize risk.”

The chairman leaned forward, groaning as he did. “I hate to cut you off, Lieutenant, but I’m afraid that our time has run out. We’ll resume testimony tomorrow at nine a.m..” 

He slammed the gavel down and stood up, walking down to head home. Most followed his example, stretching and sighing as they took off towards their offices and homes. Amanda sighed and rested her head in her hands, utterly exhausted. It was only the first session of her testimony.

“God, how am I going to survive this,” she muttered to herself under her breath. She felt a hand patting her back and turned her head to see Donkey standing there, making a piss-poor attempt at comforting.

“You’ll survive. Just think, now you can go hit up the local bars with me and Sarah.”

“God damn it Donkey, do you think about anything besides pussy and beer?”

“Sure,” he said as he picked up her hat for her, “I enjoy vodka and whiskey on occasion.”

She sighed again as she stood up. “I fucking hate you, you know that?”

He laughed as they started walking out. “Yeah, sure whatever you say. You know you should really be nicer to the person who approved your wife’s leave for the same time as your’s.”

“Kiss my ass.”

“No, thanks, I’m not into that.”

She chuckled as they walked out of the Capitol building. “Let’s go grab Sarah and get something to eat before we hit up the bars. I had to skip lunch and I am not drinking on an empty stomach after Berlin.”

“Oh, you throw up one time and suddenly it's the end of the world. Every single high schooler has already been in your shoes and that never stopped them.”

“First of all, I didn’t drink until I enlisted. Second of all, I threw up on the cute chick I was hoping to score with!”

“I know a few people who woulda been into that.”

She stared at him in disbelief as he hailed a taxi. “You are absolutely disgusting. Dis-gus-ting.”

He shot her a smile as he opened the cab door. “Just get in.”

“Why do I hang out with you? Better yet, why am I friends with you?” She asked as he slid in next to her and closed the door.

“Because you have impeccable taste in friends. Take us to the Regency on New Jersey.”

As the cab jerked into motion, Amanda shook her head and pulled out her phone, checking it for the first time since that morning.

A comfortable silence fell over the space as Amanda scrolled through hours of notifications and Donkey stared out the side window. After putting down her phone, Amanda watched as Donkey looked down, trying to gather the nerve to speak. “You know, Florence is only an hour away by h-trak. You can go see your parents if you want.”

She sighed and looked away from him, the friendly, chatty mood she had been in disappearing into a long sigh. “Why would I want to do that? You know how they are.”

He sighed, glancing at her as he did so. “I know. I just felt like I’d be an asshole if I didn’t at least mention it.”

She turned her head towards him, giving him a half hearted smile. “I appreciate the info, but that ship sailed a long time ago. How long to the hotel?”


End file.
